World War II After completing her shakedown cruise off
Bermuda,
Healy returned to New York 31 October. The ship departed for a week of coastal patrol on 10 November, and after meeting a convoy at sea steamed into
Norfolk, Va. on 18 November 1943. Two days later she cleared port en route to the
Pacific, and after transiting the
Panama Canal arrived
San Francisco, Calif. on 4 December. From there she proceeded to
Pearl Harbor, and after arrival on 11 December spent several weeks training in
Hawaiian waters with and other ships which would become the famous
Task Force 58 (TF 58) under
Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher.
January–September 1944 The Navy had begun its gigantic island campaign in the Pacific with the capture of the
Gilberts, and
Healy departed on 16 January 1944 for the second major operation, the
capture of the Marshall Islands. Until being detached from the group 1 February,
Healy screened and
Yorktown during devastating raids on installations on the target islands, including
Kwajalein.
Healy was assigned 1 February to escort and to
Majuro, and rendezvoused with the carriers there 4 February.
Healys next major operation was the
neutralization of Truk, a major
Japanese naval base in the Pacific. Departing Majuro 12 February, the carrier group attacked
Truk 17–18 February with striking thoroughness, sinking or rendering useless most of the shipping and aircraft and eliminating Truk as a major threat to the allied plans. After the raid
Healy and the carriers steamed to the
Marianas, fought off several air attacks 22 February, and delivered important strikes against
Saipan,
Tinian, and
Guam, America's next objectives in the Pacific. Prior to the Marianas invasion, however,
Healy screened
Enterprise on a series of raids in the western Pacific designed to aid the coming operations. After a stop at
Espiritu Santo the ships struck the
Palau Islands 30 March, and after beating off Japanese air raids launched an attack on
Yap and
Ulithi the next day.
Enterprise planes attacked
Woleai 1 April 1944, and returned to Majuro five days later.
Healy put to sea again 14 April to screen
Enterprise during strikes on
New Guinea, supporting operations and landings at
Tanahmerah Bay. Another heavy raid on the Japanese base at Truk 29–30 April completed this highly successful operation, and she returned to Majuro 4 May. After a period of intensive training and preparation, she departed Majuro on 6 June for the
invasion of the Marianas, a spectacular amphibious operation to be carried out nearly 1,000 miles (1,800 km) from the nearest advance base,
Eniwetok. Again acting as screening ship for the carriers,
Healy supported softening-up raids 11–15 June and protected them during the period of direct support as Admiral
Richmond Kelly Turner's
Marines went ashore on Saipan on 15 June. Two days later,
Healy and the other ships steamed out to join Admiral Mitscher's carrier task force as the Japanese made preparations to close the Marianas for a decisive naval battle. The great fleets approached each other on 19 June for the biggest carrier engagement of the war: the
Battle of the Philippine Sea. As four large air raids hit the American dispositions, fighter cover from the ships of
Healys task group and surface fire from the ships decimated the Japanese formations. With able assistance from American
submarines, Mitscher succeeded in sinking two Japanese carriers in addition to inflicting fatal losses on the enemy naval air arm during "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" on 19 June.
Healy helped rescue pilots from downed aircraft on 21 June, and arrived Eniwetok on 9 July. The Marianas invasion had been secured and the enemy threat turned back. Getting underway again on 17 June,
Healys carrier task force launched repeated strikes on Guam, steamed into the
Carolines, and commenced strikes against the
Palaus 25 July. Continuing to cruise with Task Force 58,
Healy screened the carriers during strikes on the
Bonin and
Volcano Islands on 4–5 August before returning to Eniwetok on 11 August 1944. Sailing again on 28 August, the group hit the Bonins, Palaus, and various targets in the
Philippines until 17 September.
Healy was detached that date and joined a carrier task group for direct support of the
Peleliu invasion, the next step on the island road to
Japan.
October–December 1944 The destroyer returned with her carrier group to
Manus Island on 21 September, and steamed to Ulithi to form an important task group for operations in the western Pacific. The giant force, numbering 17 carriers and supporting surface ships, rendezvoused at sea, and launched strikes against
Okinawa on 10 October. Then on 12 October, the carriers moved toward their real objective—
Formosa. In a devastating 3 days of air attacks, carrier planes did much to destroy Formosa as a supporting base for the Japanese in the island battles to come. Japanese forces retaliated with heavy and repeated land-based air attacks.
Healy brought down one bomber and assisted in downing many more during these attacks, in which and were damaged. After protecting the retirement of the damaged ships ("CripDiv 1"),
Healy resumed her screening duties for air attacks against Philippine installations 19 October. As troops stormed ashore at
Leyte for the historic
return to the Philippines,
Healy and her carrier group began direct support of the operation, blasting airfields on southern
Luzon. By 24 October, it was clear that the
invasion of Leyte had called forth one last giant effort on the part of the Japanese to annihilate the American fleet. Its three major fleet units moved toward the Philippines for the historic
Battle for Leyte Gulf, intending to divert Admiral
William F. Halsey's carriers to the northward and strike the assault forces in the gulf a two-pronged death blow.
Healy joined
Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman's Task Group 38.3 (TG 38.3), near Luzon 24 October which was attacked early in the day by land-based aircraft. Planes of the task group struck out at the ships of Vice Admiral
Takeo Kurita in the
Sibuyan Sea, sinking and damaging other heavy units of the Japanese forces. While two other phases of the great engagement, the
Battle of Surigao Strait and the
Battle off Samar, were being fought, Admiral Halsey deployed carrier forces northward to meet the decoy force of carriers under Admiral
Jisaburo Ozawa. Making contact on 25 October, the carriers, screened by
Healy and other surface units, launched a series of strikes at the Japanese carrier group. Despite effective enemy anti-aircraft fire, the planes succeeded in sinking four carriers, and a damaged destroyer was later sunk by gunfire. The great sea battle was thus ended, with the invasion of Leyte secured and the Japanese fleet no longer an effective fighting unit.
Healy returned to Ulithi for replenishment on 30 October and sailed two days later with her task group for additional strikes on the Philippines. Strikes on 5 November crippled airfields on Luzon, hit shipping in
Manila Bay, and fought off air attacks by Japanese planes against the fleet. These operations continued until 2 December, with
Healy splashing several of the attacking aircraft in the protection of her carriers. After a brief stay at Ulithi, the destroyer and her task group returned to Luzon for strikes against airfields from 14 to 16 December. After riding out the terrible
typhoon which sank , , and ,
Healy searched for survivors from the lost ships before returning to Ulithi with her carrier group 24 December.
1945 After getting underway 30 December,
Healy and her task group moved back to the Philippines. They attacked Formosa and Luzon until 8 January 1945, and then pushed into the
South China Sea for a bold demonstration of the mobility of carrier-based air power. Attacking Formosa,
Camranh Bay,
Saigon,
Hong Kong, and
Hainan, the ships sailed out of the South China Sea 21 January, having sunk over 130,000 tons of shipping and destroyed numerous aircraft. The carrier forces, after another stop at Ulithi, now turned their attention to
Iwo Jima. With
Healy and other destroyers in the protective screen, carrier planes supplied close support for the
invasion of the island on 19 February, and continued for 3 days before departing for strikes against Japanese home air bases. Leaving the carrier group,
Healy next was assigned to the battleships designated to bombard Iwo Jima, and remained off the island patrolling and screening from 4–27 March. She then sailed with by way of Saipan and Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 4 April 1945. From there the veteran destroyer steamed to
San Francisco Bay, where she arrived on 23 April. After repairs and additional training,
Healy again got underway for the combat zone 20 June 1945, departing the Hawaiian area on 2 August with and other ships for the western Pacific. The destroyer arrived Guam on 11 August, and en route from there to Iwo Jima heard the news that the war was over.
Healy steamed off Japan with and other units preparatory to the formal surrender, then acted as harbor control vessel at
Tokyo Bay until after the ceremonies, departing on 5 September with passengers for the United States. She put them ashore at
San Diego, Calif. on 21 December 1945 and sailed from
California via the Panama Canal to New York, where she arrived on 17 January 1946. Subsequently, she sailed to
Charleston, S.C. and decommissioned on 11 July 1946.
1951-1958 Healy remained in reserve until recommissioning at Charleston 3 August 1951. After shakedown training at
Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, the ship took part in training exercises including anti-submarine, air defense, and screening drills until 29 June 1953. During this time she visited various
Caribbean ports and convoyed shipping to and from the Panama Canal.
Healy put to sea on 29 June 1953 on a world cruise, stopping at San Diego and Pearl Harbor on the way to the Far East. The destroyer participated in operations with the
7th Fleet patrolling off
Communist China, and conducted coastal patrol off
Korea from 3 August to 3 December 1953. Rejoining her division, she then resumed her world cruise, visiting Hong Kong,
Ceylon,
Egypt,
Italy, and other countries before returning to Norfolk on 6 February 1954. The ship spent the remainder of 1954 on a midshipman training cruise to northern
Europe and on local exercises off
Virginia. The destroyer joined the
6th Fleet in 1955, sailing on 5 November for the
Mediterranean. She remained with the fleet protecting allied interests in that area until 26 February 1956, when she returned to Norfolk. After another cruise training midshipmen, which took her to northern Europe again, the ship returned to
Annapolis on 31 July 1956.
Healy then participated in local operations, spent a month as training ship for
Naval Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., and arrived Norfolk on 19 March 1957. Moving to
Philadelphia, the ship decommissioned on 11 March 1958.
Healy was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1974. She was sold on 12 April 1976 and broken up for scrap. ==Awards==